The wise person possesses “knowledge of the fulfillment of human destiny in the beyond.” Ignorance of this fulfillment is not your ordinary ignorance—nor ordinary stupidity—but foolishness: the state of ignorance about the fundamental human things, which is to say, the transcendent things. To be ignorant of the transcendent is to be foolish regarding the human, and the “rational discussion of order in the existence of man and society is possible only under the condition of knowing about transcendent fulfillment.” When such knowledge is lacking, discussion will be dominated by a kind of ignorant foolishness, evidenced by “a lack of readiness to discuss, the fundamental reason for which is the unwillingness of the interlocutors to be drawn into the problematic of the transcendent.” — R.J. Snell, Free Speech Cannot Save Us, in Public Discourse
Snell’s article is concerned with the state of foolishness at our universities and how it translates, unhappily, into broader society. For many of us of a certain age and few younger people who’ve joined us on the Right, “foolish” is the best descriptor of the woke among us. “Foolish” doesn’t imply unintelligent or even unsuccessful. Barack Obama is neither of those things, but I believe him to be deeply unwise. Why?
We see it in the Left’s tendency to lecture us about “who we are,” as if “who we are” necessitates progressive policies and accepts outright leftist presuppositions: we are cosmic accidents of random mutation destined, ultimately, for complete annihilation, not God-created persons with meaning and purpose intended to share in the Divine Life; indeed, there is no God to whom we will be held to account.
This is not conducive to exploring ideas together — to conversation. If there is no ultimate meaning to our lives, it comes down to my will versus thine. Without a commonly understood Yardstick by which to measure the good life, my good life is whatever I say it is, and yours is an imposition to be overcome — overpowered. It’s not just a zero-sum outlook economically, it’s zero-sum in the totality of our existence. This is what causes leftists to be prone to fascism, totalitarianism, authoritarianism… lacking God, they live under the delusion they are as gods. It’s the only way to understand “who we are” as a nation that kills nearly a million unique, unrepeatable human beings through abortion every year and be just fine with that.
Speaking of babies, it’s Christmas day and I’m not intending this post to be a downer. While we may have our religious differences, at least those of us of Jewish and Christian persuasion agree on one thing — we’re not going to save the world. We need a Messiah. For those still waiting expectantly believing, as Christians do, that God keeps his promises — Happy Hanukkah! For those who believe the Messiah was born in Bethlehem this day, Merry Christmas! God bless us, everyone!
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